2010 was great, but 2011 will be better

I recently shared my thoughts on StopPress.co.nz on what’s happened in New Zealand’s marketing world in 2010. It got me looking back on what has been a great year. It also got me thinking about what lies in store for 2011.

Here are some of the biggest professional realisations I will take away from 2010:

• Communications is about creating content, be it a press release for a journalist to use or social media fodder for people to consume and share. I knew this already, but I didn’t realise how much of a skill content creation is. We can all create content, but that doesn’t mean we can all create dynamic, successful content
• One day in the not too distant future, we might stop having marketing silos. When I started in PR a few years ago, I only knew the dictionary style definitions of what it entailed and the same goes for how it is different from marketing and advertising. Now that we have all become so muddied in what defines our place in the market, it might be wise to just have one marketing function, all contributing ideas directly into the same pot and do away with all the confusing titles Read the rest of this entry »

Securing ROI from social media marketing: 6 international speakers at Social Media Junction 2 on 16-17 November

After a hugely successful inaugural conference in May of this year, which attracted more than 200 NZ marketers, Social Media Junction returns with six international speakers, 16th-17th November at SkyCity in Auckland. The theme is Achieving ROI in your Social Media Marketing Strategy. US keynote Lee Odden will offer his insights into how to build long-term business benefits through great digital engagement on social platforms.

For more information and to buy tickets, please go here.

Where PR Fits into the Social\Digital Media Mix

I delivered a presentation this afternoon to the B&T Digital Bootcamp on where PR fits into the Social\Digital Media Mix.

For the full presentation, please click here.

However, here is a summary…

Read the rest of this entry »

The Complexities of Social Media Monitoring for PR Agencies

I’ve been doing a lot of research recently on online monitoring case studies. They all talk on about how the monitoring tools reduce the time it takes to track mentions, buzz and sentiment for their brands.

While this is certainly true and useful, I haven’t read many people who mention how the requirements of a tool vary dramatically from client to client.

This is especially important in New Zealand. For some brands, it is interesting to monitor global trends. For example, a coffee company locally can be ahead of the curve by watching trends from the North American market around the pick-up of geo-location services.

On the other hand, for some brands it is near-irrelevant what’s happening abroad. Kiwi supermarkets should be primarily focused on comparative online activity locally, for instance. This is magnified by the duopoly in this market. Read the rest of this entry »

The Human Touch

Not that long ago there was a void in terms of online measurement tools that went beyond ‘you have had 24 mentions this month’. There was a lack of connecting measurement to ROI, something that dug a little deeper towards bringing it back to the business benefits.

Now there seems to be a plethora of options, some of which have had pick-up in New Zealand and some of which haven’t. As with most things, there will probably be a cooling off period where the best ones establish themselves and the others fade into obscurity.

We all know that social media/ digital marketing is just the first step towards better communications and PR. The more important facet is what to do with that data. It’s pointless having it and not using it. Before you jump into the ocean of data, you need to set a long-term strategic plan. But where do you start? Read the rest of this entry »

The missing link: when sales, PR and advertising are disconnected

Apparently, the recent Old Spice ad has been right up there in terms of ‘talkability’, ‘buzz’ and ‘engagement’. This much is true, proven by the fact that the video, and the personalised re-incarnations (which was a great idea, by the way), have been viewed by approximately one zillion people around the world. They have been watched and passed on to friends and family because they are very funny; it’s that great content thing again.

But is this ad going to sell more product? I would never buy OId Spice, nor would my Dad, my brother, my boss, my flatmates…I’ve questioned them all and nobody I know buys it and the ads have, if anything, simply re-enforced this notion. Read the rest of this entry »

Brands battling it out as World Cup looms large

The FIFA World Cup is the biggest event in the world and therefore seen as the biggest branding opportunity known to man.

In terms of global reach, it knocks spots off The Olympics, Super Bowl or the Rugby World Cup. Almost every country in the world will be watching.

Here’s Nike’s effort. Is it over-produced and slightly ridiculous? Yes. Did it cost an enormous amount that could have gone to any number of charities? Undoubtedly. But is it a lot of fun? You betcha. Read the rest of this entry »

Not all about Gen Y: why age is just a number in social networking

Check out an interesting breakdown of the different demographics from online monitoring company, Pingdom (via BrianSolis.com). It details how, despite a similar look and feel, the multitude of social networks have a very different make-up in terms of participants.

PR and Marketing thought-leader Brian Solis highlights a few interesting findings. For instance:

“The 45 to 65+ group, those who are usually considered laggards in the technology adoption cycle, symbolize almost one-third of total users of social networks. They’re equally connecting with not only each other but also the younger generations.” Read the rest of this entry »

Mashable declares “Google’s got a monster on its hands” with Buzz

Social Media site Mashable asked its community what the number one reason people found themselves using Buzz (and therefore why it had gained traction so quickly). The summary?

· Easy to use

· Accessible

· Convenient

· Closer social circle

· Moves in real-time

· Engaging

While one might argue this is a list that any Social Media platform would be aiming to achieve, it’s easier said than done. Read the rest of this entry »

‘Where the bloody hell are you?’ - I’m going to miss you!

Yes, the now ditched Aussie tourism slogan grew on me! Maybe it’s because I’m Kiwi; we have that much more cultural affinity with Australia than just about anyone else - I think it appealed to us. And of course, it spawned a whole bunch of amusing variations, particularly so at Bledisloe Cup matches!

The images on the TVC were simply spectacular - that mouth-watering variety of visual slendour from the great vastness of the Australian continent. It certainly made me want to visit Oz!

But apparently Canada and the UK didn’t like the language or something; Tourism Australia ditched it… and now the Aussie PM himself is having a go!

Ultimately the slogan fell victim to the tighter travel market - there was little or no discernible increase in inbound travel from specifically targeted countries.

But maybe Australia doesn’t need a one-size-fits-all global slogan - after all, what attracts New Zealanders, for example, to visit Australia may be entirely different to that of Japanese or Germans. What happened to targeted marketing?

So, bloody hell, whatever they come up with next, I hope for their sakes, it isn’t treated as a sacrificial lamb should greater macro-economic forces once again take their toll on tourist numbers.

Using Yahoo Pipes in your Online Reputation Management

Keeping track of your online reputation is time consuming enough without having to decide which of the myriad tools you use to get the job done.

However, whichever combination you decide on, whether Google Alerts, Google News Feeds, IceRocket Search Feeds, Technorati Watchlists, etc, make sure you aggregate them through Yahoo Pipes, an essential tool for today’s communications professional.

Yahoo Pipes helps you keep track of your Online Reputation without having to search in 20 different places. You can aggregate content feeds from a number of different sources, and present them in RSS, email or even SMS, without needing the skillset of a programmer.

Here is a Yahoo Pipe I created from an existing News Aggregator Pipe (Yahoo Pipes allows you to easily ?clone? existing pipes & modify them.)

How to use this Pipe:

1. Enter your search term in the search box and click ?Run Pipe?, which will return a list of results.

2. You can then subscribe to the updates through RSS, etc.

As with any Online Reputation Management tool there is a certain amount of manual reading involved to determine which results are relevant. But Yahoo Pipes certainly goes a long way toward simplifying the task in hand.

Measuring Public Relations (1)

Measuring the effectiveness of public relations is essential, but don?t overcomplicate the measurement indicators. It?s easy to get tied up in metrics, and you need to be careful of ?quantity over quality?. Furthermore, some of the benefits of PR remain difficult to quantify, such as preventing damage to a company?s brand and reputation when PR counsel is adhered to.

Online Reputation Management Tools

Sarah Perez at Read Write Web gives a useful overview of some of the tracking tools currently available for online reputation management, from the well known and widely used (and free!) Google Alerts, to Trackur, the latest offering from Internet marketing guru, Andy Beal of Marketing Pilgrim. Of course there is more to effective ORM than these tools alone. For instance, some of them may not be timely enough for the exigencies of doing business today; and without specialist knowledge and counsel, companies may be deluged with unqualified reports.

Then there is the active role an online public relations specialist should play in ensuring your share of voice online.